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Every second Saturday of the month, 4 pm - Divine Liturgy in English of Sunday - Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family, Duke Street, London W1K 5BQ. Followed by refreshments.Next Liturgy: Saturday 9th September, 4pm

To purchase The Divine Liturgy: an Anthology for Worship (in English), order from the Sheptytsky Institute here, or the St Basil's Bookstore here.To purchase the Divine Praises, the Divine Office of the Byzantine-Slav rite (in English), order from the Eparchy of Parma here.The new catechism in English, Christ our Pascha, is available from the Eparchy of the Holy Family and the Society. Please email johnchrysostom@btinternet.com for details.

"It's Now or Never: The Return of the Eastern Christians to Iraq and Syria" - John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need gives the annual Christopher Morris Lecture in the Society's 90th year. Monday 27th November at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family. 6-15 pm Divine Liturgy, 7-15 pm Lecture, 8-15 pm Reception. £10 donation requested. RSVP to johnchrysostom@btinternet.com

Thursday, 25 October 2012

The Melkite Church: living with and for others:
dialogue of civilizations, dialogue of life

Tuesday 6
November 2012

Marie Eugenie Room

5.00pm-6.30pm

The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham is based in Damascus.
The Patriarch is the leader of the world-wide Melkite Church, which in the
Middle East is mainly concentrated in Lebanon and Syria, although large
communities live outside of the Middle East region, particularly in Europe, the
United States and Canada, and also significant communities in Argentina and
Brazil. Gregory III was elected patriarch on November 29, 2000, and might be
considered one of the most important Christian leaders in Syria, the Middle
East and the Catholic Church.

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Aspects of the Politics of Church and State in Modern Greece
Tuesday 13 November 4-6.30

The Greek Orthodox Church and Muslim-Christian relations: some fractured vignettes from a sideshow Tuesday 20 November 4-6.30

Associate Professor Gerasimos Makris, Panteion University, Athens, Greece: Research Fellow at the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London

Marie Eugenie Room. Open to all. There is no charge and no need to pre-register.

Gerasimos Makris has a special research interest in the Greek Orthodox Church and Christianity and Islam in the Arab World. His family origins are in the Greek community in the Middle East. Publications include:

Changing Masters: Spirit Possession and Identity Construction among the Descendants of Slaves in the Sudan, Northwestern University Press, 2000;Islam in the Middle East: A Living Tradition, Blackwell, 2006;
Islam: Practices, Beliefs and Trends (In Greek, enlarged edition), Patakis, 2012.
‘The Greek Orthodox Church in the Sudan” in O’Mahony, A. (ed.) Eastern Christianity: Studies in History, Politics and Religion, London, Melisende Press, 2004;
with D. Oulis and S. Roussos, ‘The Orthodox Church of Greece: policies and challenges under Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens (1998–2008)’, International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, (Special Issue guest edited by Charles Miller & A.O’Mahony: ‘Orthodox churches in contemporary contexts’) vol. 10, (2010) nos. 2–3, 192–210;
‘The Greek Orthodox Church and Africa: Missions between the Light of Universalism and the Shadow of Nationalism’, Studies in World Christianity, vol. 16, (2010). no. 3, 245-267.For further information, please contact j.flannery@heythrop.ac.ukHeythrop College, University of London, Kensington Square,
London W8 5HN

Friday, 12 October 2012

Vatican
City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - During the course of this morning's ceremony in
St. Peter's Square for the opening of the Year of Faith, Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I pronounced an address, extracts of which are given below.

"Fifty
years ago in this very square, a powerful and pivotal celebration captured the
heart and mind of the Roman Catholic Church, transporting it across the
centuries into the contemporary world. This transforming milestone, the opening
of Vatican Council II, was inspired by the fundamental reality that the Son and
incarnate Logos of God is 'where two or three are gathered in his name' and
that the Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father, 'will guide us into the whole
truth'.

"Over
the last five decades, the achievements of this assembly have been diverse as
evidenced through the series of important and influential constitutions,
declarations, and decrees. We have contemplated the renewal of the spirit and
the 'return to the sources' through liturgical study, biblical research, and
patristic scholarship. We have appreciated the struggle toward gradual
liberation from the limitation of rigid scholasticism to the openness of
ecumenical encounter, which has led to the mutual rescinding of the excommunications
of the year 1054, the exchange of greetings, returning of relics, entering into
important dialogues, and visiting each other in our respective Sees.

"Our
journey has not always been easy or without pain and challenge. ... The
essential theology and principal themes of Vatican Council II - the mystery of
the Church, the sacredness of the liturgy, and the authority of the bishop -
are difficult to apply in earnest practice, and constitute a life-long and
Church-wide labour to assimilate".

"As
we move forward together, we offer thanks and glory to the living God - Father,
Son and Holy Spirit - that the same assembly of bishops has recognised the
importance of reflection and sincere dialogue between our 'sister Churches'. We
join in the 'hope that the barrier dividing the Eastern Church and the Western
Church will be removed, and that - at last - there may be but the one dwelling,
firmly established on Christ Jesus, the Cornerstone, Who will make both
one'".

"Our
presence here signifies and seals our commitment to witness together to the
Gospel message of salvation and healing for the least of our brethren: the
poor, the oppressed, the forgotten in God’s world. Let us begin with prayers
for peace and healing for our Christian brothers and sisters living in the
Middle East. In the current turmoil of violence, separation, and brokenness
that is escalating between peoples and nations, may the love and desire for harmony
we profess here, and the understanding we seek through dialogue and mutual
respect, serve as a model for our world. Indeed, may all humanity reach out to
‘the other’ and work together to overcome the suffering of people everywhere,
particularly in the face of famine, natural disasters, disease, and war that
ultimately touches all of our lives.

"In light of all that has yet to be
accomplished by the Church on earth, and with great appreciation for all the
progress we have shared, we are, therefore, honoured to be invited to attend -
and humbled to be called to address - this solemn and festive commemoration of
Vatican Council II. It is fitting that this occasion also marks for your Church
the formal inauguration of the 'Year of Faith', as it is faith that provides a
visible sign of the journey we have travelled together along the path of
reconciliation and visible unity".

Thursday, 11 October 2012

The New Testament Apocrypha and the Armenian Church Canon of the Bibleby the Rt Reverend Dr Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate of the Armenian Church in the UK & Ireland
22 November 2012, Lambeth Palace, London SE1 7JU by kind permission of His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury

5.30pm Evensong followed by the lecture
7.00pm Buffet Supper (carriages at 9pm)

Tickets may be booked through www.aeca.org.uk, at £23 to cover the reception costs.

The Life and Thought of Louis Massignon (1883-1962): Comparative political and theological perspectivesA one-day Conference in honour of the 50th anniversary of the death of Louis Massignon on the eve of the Second Vatican Council 27 November 2012, Centre for Eastern Christianity, Marie Eugenie Room, Heythrop College, Kensington Square, London W8 5HN, 10.00am-6.00pm (Registration from 9.15pm)

Attendance charge £20 – to be paid on the day. Lunch is not included - but the College cafeteria will be open for meals and snacks.

Louis Massignon, a Greek Catholic Melkite priest who dedicated much of his life to making known the importance of the living presence of Christianity in the Middle East, was an extremely influential French Catholic thinker on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. Massignon's religious thought had a significant influence on the documents of the Second Vatican Council; on the political theology in the encounter between Judaism, Christianity and Islam; and the modern ‘dialogue of civilizations'.

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Beginning on Wednesday 10 October, during the Holy Father's weekly general audience, an Arabic speaker will join the other speakers who provide a summary of the papal catechises in various different languages.

In this way, in the wake of his recent trip to Lebanon and the publication of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Medio Oriente", the Holy Father intends to express his perpetual concern and support for Christians in the Middle East, and to remind everyone of their duty to pray and work for peace in the region.

19 October 2012The current situation of Christianity in the Middle East, especially Syria, after the Synod of the Middle East's Final Declaration of September 2012 and the Papal Visit to Lebanon
Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College

11-30 to 13-30 Lecture by Antoine Aude SJ, Bishop of Aleppo of the Chaldean Catholics

Speaking to Agenzia Fides, Mar Gregorios said that the
situation is worsening in the region and echoed Pope Benedict's called for an
international response to the crisis. "We leaders of local Christian
Churches can do little. Even Muslim leaders appear divided," he said.

"At this point, given the inaction of the Western
powers, the Holy See itself or other realities, such as the Community of St.
Egidio, may try to put in place practical proposals to find a way out of the
conflict, based on a defined agenda that makes Pope Benedict XVI’s appeals
during his visit to Lebanon concrete. Those words of His Holiness were really
important, and were appreciated by all, Christians and Muslims."

The Syrian Orthodox Bishop went on to describe the
situation in the city of Aleppo, described the ever increasing dangers in his
diocese, saying that explosions occur "all day." The Syrian prelate
also said that because they live close to neighborhoods where the Free Syria
Army has settled, it has been impossible to open schools or accommodate people
in churches.

"Every day there are deaths, funerals are
celebrated in all Christian churches. Yesterday, I celebrated the funeral of a
Syrian Orthodox soldier killed in Sweida," he said. Mar Gregorios sharply
denounced the cycle of violence among Syrians, saying that "killing their
own brothers and sisters is something atrocious, a shame before the eyes of all
humanity."

The Syrian bishop acknowledged that Christians are
involved in the cycle of conflict in various ways. The majority, he says, have
"become silent, waiting to see where what is happening takes us, and
wonder anxiously what the future will be like." Mar Gregorios said that
while he knows that among Christians there are both opponents and supporters of
the current regime, he could not confirm that Christians have taken up arms.
"Those who choose that path, he said, "one way or the other, does it
individually. For everyone else, the prospect that comes up is that of escape.
There are hundreds of families who have already done so, and others are
considering it. The same scenario of Iraq seems to repeat itself here in
Syria."

Mar Gregorios concluded his interview with Fides saying
that while many have chosen to flee the country, he will not. "I will stay
here, I cannot leave Aleppo, I have to be with my people."

Over 150 hand-painted icons by 50 members of the Association will be on view.Thursday 25th at 10-30 am - Opening by his Eminence Gregorios, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great BritainThursday 25th at 3-30 pm - English Romanesque Painting, Talk by Peter Murphy Friday 26th at 4 pm - Living Prayer in Christianity, a Film by Jean-Claude Lubtchansk, presented by Richard Temple of the Temple Gallery - admission £10Saturday 27th at 2-30 pm - Painting Icons: A Living Tradition Today, Talk by Dr Guillem Ramos-Poqui

Pray for the Unity of the Apostolic Churches

The Society of St John Chrysostom promotes greater appreciation of the spiritual, theological and liturgical traditions of Eastern Christendom, works and prays for the unity of the Churches of East and West, and encourages support for the Eastern Churches :

- the Byzantine and Oriental Catholic Churches in communion with the Apostolic See of Rome (especially in their contemporary calling to promote reconciliation and the recovery of union between Catholics and Orthodox)- the Orthodox Church- the Oriental Orthodox Churches and- the Church of the East.

In the United Kingdom and Europe the Society, founded in 1926, is a group of Catholics of the Latin and Eastern Churches, along with our friends in other traditions, promoting awareness and friendship in the Christian West for our fellow Christians of the East - through prayer and liturgy, conferences and lectures, pilgrimage and ecumenical encounters.